JEFFERSON TWP — Ally Bauer was one up on her big sister.

The Knoch sophomore teamed with senior Libby Conlon to win the WPIAL girls doubles tennis championship last season.

So when Brooke Bauer — a Knoch senior this season — decided to team with her kid sister in postseason doubles this fall, the insinuation was obvious.

“There was a little bit of pressure on me there,” Brooke said, laughing. “Ally won with Libby. She would have wondered why she didn't win with me.”

Of course, she had nothing to worry about.

The Bauer sisters not only won the WPIAL doubles title, they advanced all the way to the state championship match. They fell by a 6-4, 6-2 count to Emma Perkins and Alex Pancu of Conrad Weiser.

“No shame in that,” Brooke said. “We played a good match. Those two girls were very, very good. They hit the ball hard.”

But the Bauer girls hung in there, stretching the match to nearly two hours despite the straight-set defeat.

“That team was tremendous,” Knoch coach Nance Conlon said of Perkins and Pancu. “You expect that level of competition in a state final.

“But every point was contested. That was a highly competitive match.”

Brooke agreed, saying the match had “a number of very long volleys.”

She said she decided to become Ally's doubles partner instead of entering section singles tournament play for a couple of reasons.

“This was going to be my last chance to play doubles with my sister in high school,” Brooke said. “And I knew that if I played singles, I'd be chasing Laura (Knoch No. 1 singles player Greb) and I didn't want to do that.”

Greb became a four-time WPIAL singles champion and lost in the state semifinals to eventual state champion Olivia Dorner of South Williamsport.

Ally said she and Brooke had talked about teaming up in doubles for Knoch before.

“We talked about it last season,” she said. “This year, with only the (WPIAL) singles champion being able to go to states, it made us want to play doubles together even more.

“We felt like we could get there.”

The two have teamed up to play doubles tournaments a few times through the years, but not all that often.

“The age gap between us made it hard for us to play together in most events,” Brooke said.

Once they did team up, Conlon said the duo was affectionally referred to as the “Killer B's” by their Knoch teammates.

They know each other's games as well as any doubles tandem does.

“We grew up playing together with our family, learning the game together,” Brooke said. “Aly has a great backhand, much better than mine, so I would set her up for shots on her backhand side.”

“It played to our advantage, for sure, knowing each other's games so well,” Aly said. “There was such a comfort level between us on the court.

“We know each other's strengths and weaknesses. And it was fun. Playing with Brooke in the state finals, winning the WPIAL with her ... That will be a forever memory for me.”

For Brooke as well.

“As sisters, we'll never forget it,” Brooke said. “We'll talk about this year for the rest of our lives.”

While Brooke is moving on to college tennis — still undecided as to where — Aly has two more years to play at Knoch.

And the sister act isn't over in the Knights program. While Laura Greb is graduating, twin sisters Emily and Lindsay will be sophomores next year.

“There's something special about sisters playing on the court together,” Conlon said. “Brooke decided she wanted to play (this postseason) with Aly. It was her call all the way.

“It was a great decision.”